Ricardo Montalban
in TOS: "Space Seed" (1967).]] Actor Ricardo Montalban (born 25 November 1920 in Mexico) has enjoyed a long career in television and film. He is best known to Star Trek fans for his role as the genetically-engineered Khan Noonien Singh, a role he originated in the original series episode "Space Seed". He would reprise the role 15 year later in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. An almost sterotypical "Latin Lover" type, he may be best known to the general public as the enigmatic Mr. Roarke from the television series Fantasy Island. Others may remember him as the Chrysler pitchman who touted the Cordoba, with its "rich, Corinthian leather". Montalban won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Satangkai on the epic 1978 western mini-series How the West Was Won. Also starring in this series were fellow Star Trek alumnus Robert Doqui, Fionnula Flanagan, Brian Keith, Ed Lauter, Gregg Palmer, Robert Phillips, George D. Wallace, Morgan Woodward, Harris Yulin, and Montalban's "Space Seed" and Wrath of Khan co-star William Shatner. After starring in many films in his native Mexico throughout the 1940s, Montalban's first major American film appearance came in 1948, with a supporting role opposite Peter Lawford in the musical On an Island with You. The following year, he had his first starring role, playing a Mexican federal agent in Border Incident, which co-starred fellow TOS guest performer Arnold Moss. He followed this in 1950 with a starring role in the film noir Mystery Street (with John Crawford and Frank Overton) and a supporting role in the John Sturges drama Right Cross (with Kenneth Tobey and John Crawford). It was while filming the western Across the Wide Missouri with Clark Gable in 1951 that Montalban is reported to have suffered a back injury that would plague him for the rest of his life. By 1993, the problem had grown to the point at which he required spinal surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery left him in constant pain, unable to walk, and confined to a wheelchair. Nonetheless, he continues to work, albeit in voiceover roles (such as Armondo Guitierrez on Freakazoid!) and the occasional role that can be filmed around his disability, such as his portrayal of the high-tech wheelchair-bound grandfather in two of the three Spy Kids movies. Despite any injury he may have received, Montalban continued to work in films as well as television throughout the next several decades. He co-starred with Michael Ansara in the 1954 adventure film The Saracen Blade and would do so again for 1968's Sol Madrid (also with Perry Lopez) and 1977's Mission to Glory: A True Story (also with Anthony Caruso). Montalban's other film credits include such classics as Sayonara (1957), Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960, with James Darren and Roy Jenson), Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962, co-starring Richard Beymer, Whit Bissell, Michael J. Pollard, and Peter Brocco), the John Ford western Cheyenne Autumn (1964, with Charles Seel), The Money Trap (1965, with Parley Baer and William Campbell), Madame X (1966, with Warren Stevens), and Sweet Charity (1969, with Sammy Davis, Jr. and Ben Vereen). Montalban appeared as Armando in two Planet of the Apes movies: Escape from the Planet of the Apes in 1971 (with William Windom, Jason Evers, and James B. Sikking) and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes in 1972. He also appeared with the likes of Teri Garr and Dean Stockwell in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) and co-starred with Brian Keith in Joe Panther (also 1976). During this time, Montalban was also active on television, making guest appearances on such programs as Bonanza, The Untouchables, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Dr. Kildare, The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, The Carol Burnette Show, and, of course, Star Trek. He also had roles in such made-for-TV movies Code Name: Heraclitus (1967, directed by James Goldstone and featuring Chuck Courtney and Malachi Throne), Sarge (1971, with Stewart Moss and David Huddleston), The Mark of Zorro (1974, co-starring Frank Langella), and Captains Courageous (1977, with Jeff Corey and Fritz Weaver). Finally, in 1977, he would take on the role of Mr. Roarke for the TV movie pilot for Fantasy Island. It would be picked up as a series the following year. Star Trek: Voyager guest star Wendy Schaal became a regular on the program in 1980. in The Wrath of Khan (1982).]] In 1982, Montalban agreed to play Khan in Star Trek II for only $100,000, reportedly because he loved the role and was thrilled to play the character again. Six years after playing Khan in Star Trek II, he played another villainous role, that of Vincent Ludwig, in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. Raye Birk played the bad guy who hired Ludwig to assassinate the Queen of England and Tiny Ron played Al, a tall police lab technician. Following the end of Fantasy Island in 1984, Montalban would guest star on such series as Dynasty and Murder, She Wrote before being bound to a wheelchair. Despite this, he has entertained a whole new generation of audiences with his portrayal of "Grandfather" in the popular Spy Kids sequels, beginning with Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams in 2002 (with Christopher McDonald) and followed by Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over in 2003. He also continues to do voice work for various cartoons and animated films. Trivia Coincidently, Montalban's co-star on "Space Seed", Madlyn Rhue (who played Marla McGivers in the episode) had also been confined to a wheelchair due to health issues. Also like Montalban, Rhue continued to work despite her predicament, including an appearance with Montalban on Fantasy Island. She would pass away in 2003. External Links * * de:Ricardo Montalban Montalban, Ricardo Montalban, Ricardo Montalban, Ricardo